Missed Chance
by jennamajig
Summary: Could it be that this was closest she'd been to being alone with a member of the opposite sex?  Missing scene from the Gift.  Beckett/Weir.


SUMMARY: Could it be that this was closest she'd been to being alone with a member of the opposite sex? Missing scene from the Gift.

SEASON/SPOILERS: Season 1. The Gift.

PAIRINGS: Beckett/Weir

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was watching The Gift today, and for some reason, always thought there was more between that glance Elizabeth and Carson shared when they called Teyla in to tell her what they had discovered. I'll admit, I don't really like very many het pairings for Atlantis, but there are two that I secretly shipped: Beckett/Weir and Beckett/Teyla. The Gift gives me support for either, but this is the former, obviously. First het piece and it's been written so that could actually fit into canon (though I do have an idea for a sequel involving a missing scene from Intruder if anyone is interested).

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate: Atlantis or anything associated with it. I'm simply borrowing, but I promise to return all in one piece. Eventually.

* * *

Elizabeth Weir rubbed her eyes as she stared at the Wraith language in front of her. She knew she had to look like hell. It was late, and considering Atlantis had a far longer day than Earth, it was extremely likely she'd been up for over thirty hours.

But the Wraith were only a week away and this data might hold to the key to Teyla's apparent link with the Wraith.

Besides her sat Carson Beckett, one of his hands curled around a stainless steel mug of tea she knew had probably long since gone cold. The other hand was clicking at the keyboard of his laptop as his eyes studied the screen. There were bags under his eyes and she didn't need to look in a mirror to know she probably had matching ones under her own eyes.

It had to be here. It was why she'd called Carson, after all. This one Wraith was definitely experimenting with human DNA. She sighed and drummed her fingertips on the desk, frustrated.

"Elizabeth?"

She turned to find Carson's eyes staring into her own. She was startled for a moment, suddenly realizing how blue they were.

"Are you all right, love?" He put his hand on her arm, his voice full of concern. She was well aware that it was nothing but an innocent question, but for some reason it stirred something deep inside her.

She shook her head slightly, trying to find her voice. "I'm fine," she finally managed to say. "I'm not sure we're getting much of anywhere. I'm wondering if I called you down her prematurely. Rodney had wanted you to sit in the control chair—"

"And I want to be anywhere but the control chair," he interrupted. "Frankly, Elizabeth, my skills are put to better use here with you than they would be with Rodney. He should use Major Sheppard or perhaps any of the other members of the expedition that have the gene to help."

"Aside from Major Sheppard, no one else has as much control over any the Ancient devices. Don't sell yourself short, Carson."

He gave her a small, tight smile. "I think, perhaps, that General O'Neill might beg to differ after I nearly killed him and Major Sheppard." He turned from her a moment to grab at his mug, lifting it to his lips to take a sip. His grimaced. "I know Teyla meant well bringing over some Athosian tea, but it is rather bitter when it gets cold, I'm afraid."

"At least it's caffeinated," she pointed out. "We ran of coffee a month ago and I'm just glad we were able to avoid most of our people going into caffeine withdrawal."

"Aye," Carson agreed. "Imagine Rodney with no caffeine. It would not be a pretty sight." He shifted, turning his chair more toward her, his blue eyes once again meeting hers.

She felt a shiver travel down her spine and had no idea why. Could it be that this was closest she'd been to being alone with a member of the opposite sex? She immediately pushed that thought out of her head, thinking of Simon.

Which, unfortunately, just reminded her it had been nearly a year since she'd had sex. She broke eye contact with Carson, turning back to the Wraith text in front of her.

"This one Wraith keeps talking about what I can only translate as genetic material changes," she told him, changing the subject. "But I'm not sure what he would gain from changing human DNA."

Carson pushed his mug out of the way. "I've been through Teyla's sample over a dozen times and I'm afraid I'm not finding any strand thus far that is out of the ordinary from you or I," he admitted. "But if this particular Wraith was manipulating human DNA, he must have had something to gain from it."

"Probably," she agreed. The two of them each turned back to their respective research, and for a few minutes the only sound in the room was the click of the of two laptop keyboards.

Until, Carson suddenly got up and hurried towards the other end of his lab. She glanced up at his quick moment.

"Carson?"

She watched him grab a file and scurry back towards her. He plopped the file down in between both of their computers, flipping it open. She frowned, having no clue what he'd discovered.

"Wraith cells," he finally said, a bit of triumph in his voice. "I've been studying Teyla's DNA sample, but I've nothing to compare it to, so I have no clue what I should be looking for. If you don't have an example of bad behavior, how do you know what behavior is bad?"

She nodding, understanding hitting her. "If this Wraith was actually manipulating human DNA for Wraith gain, then perhaps he did something to it that we normally won't think of as bad?"

"Precisely. I'm wondering if he didn't try and involve Wraith material of some kind. My team and I have only been able to map fifty percent of the genetic code contained in the Wraith cells we've managed to collect thus far. What if the answer lies in the fifty percent yet unmapped? I can run a comparison between the Wraith cells and Teyla's cells. It may help us understand this Wraith's experiment."

"Yes," she agreed. "Carson, you're a genius." She put a hand on his, ignoring the spark of electricity that ran up her arm. She was lonely, that had to be it.

She watched him blush. "Rodney's the genius, remember?" he pointed out. "Or so he likes to remind us that he is."

"That he does." She didn't move her hand, though she knew she should. Carson didn't budge either and for a brief moment she wondered if he ever felt as lonely as she did.

It felt like a almost a full minute passed between the two of them, but she was certain it was most likely only a few seconds. Carson finally broke the casual embrace and bent his head down to reach for the file between them. But doing so, he closed the gap between them so that when he lifted his head his eyes were only a few feet from hers.

If someone asked her what exactly happened next, she wasn't sure she would have honestly been able to answer. All she knew was Carson's lips were on hers and their hands were frantically grabbing parts of each other in a way she hadn't really done since she'd made out with Rob Carmichael in the back of his father's Chevy in twelfth grade.

And Carson was a much better kisser than Rob had been. She felt his hand reach up towards the swell of her breast and she gasped.

Oh god, they shouldn't be doing this. They had research to do, text to look at, Teyla's DNA to…

Carson's tongue made its way into her mouth and she closed her eyes. This just felt so damn good and it had been so damn long. She might be the leader of this expedition, but she was also a woman. A woman that often tried to ignore her own desires in favor for what was best for her people.

Carson finally pulled away from her and they studied each other, panting.

"Elizabeth, I had no right to—"

She held up a hand. "That wasn't just you, Carson."

"Aye." He gave her a small smile. "You are a very lovely lass, you know."

She almost laughed at the compliment. "Well, you're not too shabby yourself, Carson." She took a breath. "I meant it, earlier. You sell yourself short."

"Maybe I do, but you, Elizabeth," he countered. "You don't think about yourself nearly enough."

Had she read his mind? This wasn't fair, she thought. She'd always found Carson easy to talk to, thinking it was the accent, or perhaps the fact that he was in the same line of work as Simon and that was comforting.

Simon. She briefly thought about him on Earth and how she'd basically broken up with him via videotape. She ignored her needs, all right, but perhaps it was because she didn't think she deserved any better.

"Elizabeth." Carson's hand was back on hers, the other one tipping her head up to meet his gaze. "You're beautiful," he told her. "And if we get through this, maybe…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "No, silly me. Why would you want to-"

"Why wouldn't I?" she interrupted and in that second realized that Simon had nothing to do with what she was feeling at this moment. But there was no time to think about it, no time to ponder on a connection she'd only discovered was stronger than she'd first imagined.

No, there was work do. There were people to worry about.

"We can't," Carson answered, as if he had again read her mind. Or maybe he hadn't. Carson had just as much invested in the well being of everyone in the Atlantis expedition as she did. They both considered Teyla a friend.

And so, they shared another tight smile and a lingering stare. It lasted a few seconds, before they each turned back to the computer screens. Carson ran a DNA comparison and they found the less than desirable answers they been looking for a few hours later, and called Teyla in. They were bleary-eyed, and still clutching matching mugs of Athosian tea when she arrived.

"Good morning," Teyla greeted and they both looked up at her at the same time, sharing a glance between them that went beyond the unpleasant news they had to share with Teyla.

"You look as I feel," Teyla continued.

"Uh, well, we've been up all night," she admitted, trying her best to steer her thoughts for straying anywhere near what had happened between her Carson hours earlier. After all, it had been a snapshot in time, a chance she didn't even know if she'd ever have to revisit.

"You wanted to see me?" Teyla asked.

"You better sit down," Carson told her and Elizabeth knew that the hard part was just beginning. Part of Teyla's DNA matched Wraith DNA and well not exactly something anyone might truly consider a "gift," perhaps it could help them win the war against the Wraith.

And who knew? Somehow, if they managed to survive that battle, she might have another chance.


End file.
